Los Angeles Police Investigating Gang Rape Accusation Against Derrick Rose

The Los Angeles Police Department is investigating rape allegations against New York Knicks point guard Derrick Rose and two of his childhood friends, PEOPLE confirms.

The criminal probe stems from allegations made by a former girlfriend who sued Rose, 27, last year, alleging he and two of his friends drugged her and later gang raped her at her apartment while she was unconscious.

The woman, identified in court records as "Jane Doe," says she was incapacitated and did not give consent. The incident allegedly occurred in August 2013.

Doe is seeking $21. 5 million.

Rose's lawyers have denied the woman's allegations and said she and Rose were in a consensual sexual relationship. They have labeled her suit "outrageous."

At a media day with reporters Monday, Rose, who has not been criminally charged in the case, reportedly said he was unaware of the police probe until that day and that police had not contacted him, adding, "I will be proven innocent."

News of the criminal investigation came to light after the LAPD detective in charge of the case wrote a letter to the woman's attorney in order to "clarify any misconception" that the police weren't pursuing the case, CBS News reports.

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Last week, a federal judge in Los Angeles ruled that Doe could no longer use an alias during her upcoming civil trial against Rose, scheduled for Oct. 4.

Lawyers for the woman argued that her privacy should be protected and that she had already been harassed after her name surfaced, according to CBS.

LAPD detective Nadine Hernandez argued in her letter that offering anonymity to victims was "an invaluable investigative aid to investigators," and that Doe's identity would continue to be kept anonymous "throughout the criminal investigation being handled by the Los Angeles Police Department," UPI reports.

"I'm not worried about it," Rose said Monday of the criminal probe, according to The New York Times. "I feel like I didn't do anything wrong."